richardson



H. RICHARDSON CAR DOOR OPENER Nov. z 192e. 1,605,777

Filed May 22. 1922 2 sheetsheet 1 (hmmag Nov. 2 1926u H. RECHAHDSN CAR DOOR oPsNma Filed May' 22. 1922 2 sheets-sheet 2 Patented Non., 2, 192i?.

unirse stars isteria rarer-1r ortica.

EENEY BICI-IARDSGN, 0F PASSAC, NEW JERSEY, ASSIGNOR TO RICHARDSN SCALE COMPANY, OIE' E'ASSAC, NEW JERSEY, A CORPORATION OF NEVI JERSEY.

CAR-DOOR OPENER.

Application led May 22, 1922. `Serial No. 562,916.

T he present invention relates to improvements in apparatus adapted for use in the unloading of railroad cars loaded with material in bulli, and more especially cars of the box-car type loaded in the customary way with grain.

rlhe primary object of the invention is to provide a siinplilied, improved and inexpensive device for pushing in and thus opening the door of the car to enable the grain or contents thereof to flow or to be otherwise discharged therefrom. The. present invention provides a device of this character which can be easily and quickly brought into position opposite to the door to be opened, the device being so constructed and operative that a relative movement between the car and the door-pushing device, in a direction longitudinally of the car, will force loose and effectively push in the door without the necessity of destroying the door and without injury to the car. A door-pushing device of this character enables cars to be unloaded quickly and inexpensively, especially in those instances where an elaborate and expensive car-loading installation is not available or the cost of such an installation would be prohibitive.

To these and other ends the invention consists in certain improvements and combinations and arrangements of parts, all as will be hereinafter more fully described, the features of novelty being pointed out particularly in the claims at the end of the specification. i v

ln the accompanying drawings zkFigure l is a diagrammatic view illustrating, bythe full lines, `the manner in which a door-pushing device constructed in accordance with the present invention is positioned opposite to the car door to be opened, and indicating` by the dotted lines the manner in which the door is opened.

Figure 2 is a diagrammatic view showing the manner in whichthe opening of the car door is initiated. Y y

Figure 3 is a side elevation of `a dooropening device constructed in accordance with the preferred embodiment of the invention. p v

Figure `illustrates the door-opening derice in end elevation short/"ing the same positioned to open thedoor of a grain car..

Figure 5 is a view similar to Figure 1l but showing` the door o ienindldevce in the retracted position which it occupies prior or subsequent to its operation, thus permitting transit of the car or cars past the dooropening device without obstruct-ion.

Figure 6 is a perspective view of a dooropening device constructed in accordance with another embodiment of the` invention.

Figure 7 is a perspective view of another embodiment of the invention wherein, means is provided for adjusting the length of the door pusher to accommodate it to cars of vdifferent widths. p

Similar parts are designated by the saine reference characters in the several views.

Door-opening devices embodying the present invention are adapted for use generally' in all instances where it is desirable or 4necessary to push in and thus open the vdoor-of a ycar preparatory to or as a part ofl the operation of unloading the contents thereof, although it is .particularly useful 'in situations where an elaborate car-unloadinginstallation embodying means for tilting the car is not available or the cost of such an installation would be prohibitive. The preferred embodiments of the invention are shown in the accompanyingv drawings and will-be hereinafter described in detail, but it is to be understood that the invention is not restricted to the precise construction shown as equivalent constructions are contemplated and these will be included Within the scope of the claims.

In the present instance, A represents a railroad car of the box-car type .ordinarily used in the carrying of grain in bulk7 it being customary to nail or otherwise secure boards B against the inner sides of the upright beams or jambs C at the opposite sides of the door opening, these boards extending up to a suitable height above the floor E of the car, so that the grain in bulk designated .F may be loaded in the car to the desired depth. h i i The door-opening device is suitably mounted at one sid-e of the track on which the car to be unload-ed may rest and preflli erably the door-opening device is so mounted that it may travel or be shifted in a direction i longitudinally alongside of the car rails.V ln'lligures. l-itok 5-,.inclusive, the door-opening device comprises a carriage l which is suspended or otherwise mounted to travel along an Voverhead rail 2 whichy isk suitably supported alongside of and in liti parallelism with thc car rails, the carriage being provided with rollers 3 adapted to travel along the lower flange of the rail 2 which, in the present instance, is shown as consisting of an I-beam and the lower end of the carriage is guided and sustained from lateral swing or displacement by a lower guide or rail t which may be placed direct ly beneath and in parallelism with the rail 2, the lower end of the carriage being providedl in the present instance, with a beam or member 5 which is confined laterally but travels longitudinally in a channel formed in the top of the lower rail a.

Means is provided in the present instance for locking or securely holding the carriage of the door-opening device from movement longitudinally of the rails 2 and et after the door-pushing device has been brought into a position to operate on the car door. A shown, a pair of locking bolts 6 are Iguided to move vertically in the lower ends of upright members 7 which are secured to or form a partof the carriage, these bolts being adapted when lowered to engage in holes 8 in the lower rail 4, thus securely holding the carriage from shifting longitudinally on the rails, but when the bolts are elevated' or retracted, the carriage may be shifted longitudinally of the rails to move it to or from Operative relation with the car door orthe car door opening. The uprights 7 may ad;- vantageously be constructed of tubular form as shown to accommodate the bolts 6 and guide them and the bolts may be attached to rods or cables 9 which extend upwardly tluough the tubular uprights and are connected to bell-crank levers 10 pivoted Aat 11 on the upper portion of thecarriage and toggle links 12 may be operatively connected to the lower arms of the bell-crank levers and the middle pivot 13 of these toggle links may have a suitable handle 14k attached thereto. By this construction, when the handle 14 is in its lower position. as shown in Figure 3, the toggle links 12 will be in alinement or substantially so.y and the locking bolts 6 will be elevated or retracted, the carriage being then unlocked so it may be shifted along its rails; but whenthe han die 1a is pushed upwardly the toggle links 12will be bent or fiexed and the bolts 6 will thus be lowered. so that the;7 engage in the locking holes 8 in the lower rail, the `czufriage being thereby locked securely froinnioveinent .or displacement along its rails,

rhe door op'ening device proper cornprises pairs of bars or props 15 and 16` the upper and lower arms 15 being operatively connected to 'fittings 17 which are supported or sustained by one of the uprights 7, the ier ends of these armsl being connected to a `freine or pusher 18 and the other arms i6 are similarly connected to. fittings 19 mounted on the other upright 7 and connected to a frame or pusher 20. The fittings 17 and 19 are pivotally mounted on the respective uprights 7, so that the pairs of bars or props 15 and 16 may be swung in unison or substantially so about these uprights as axes and the free ends of the bars or props are so connected that they will swing in definite relation to one another about the uprights 7 as axes. lis shown in the present instance, a connection is provided between the frames or pushers 18 and 20 which comprises a pair of members 21 and 22, these members being pivotally connected :it 23 and 2li to the respective frames and relatively adjustable longitudinally to vary the spacing between the frames 18 and 20. As shown, the members21 and 22 have a telescopic relation and a pin 25 serves to lock them in the desired relation. In order to enable the door-opening or pushing device to be retracted with respect to the' car rails and thus permit movement of cars past the door opening without obstruction, the bars or props 15 are pivot l connected at 26 and 27 to the fittings 17 d thev frame 18, respectively, and the bars or props 16 are similarly connected by the pivots 28 and 29 to the fittings 19 and frame 20l respectively, the bars and frames thus providing a structure which can be lowered to bring the bars into substantially horizontal position with the lower ends of the frames resting` on the car floor which forms the sill of the car opening, as shown in Figure l, or the arms may be swung upwardly more or less to elevate the frames 18 and 20 and as the arms 15 and 16 swing about the pivots 2G and 28 of the fittings 17 and 19, the effect of this movement will be to retract the door-pushing frames 18 and 20 in a direction laterally of the car rails or a car standing` thereon` substautiall;T as shown in Figure 5. l

The weightvof the bars 15 and 16, the frames 18 and 20 and the connection between the frames is preferably counter-balanced in order to facilitate manipulation of the door pusher. its shown in the present inst-ance, cables 30 are attached to the respectivel frames 18 and 20, these cables passing upwardly over idler pulleys 31 on the top of the carriage 1 and the ends of these cables extend downwardly and have suitable counter-weights 32 attached thereto, the counterweights being advantageously ,guided to work vertically between the uprights 9 of the carriage and the adjacent upright meinbers 33of the carriage.

The portions of the frames 18 and 20 which act on the car door to effect opening thereof are preferably provided with rollers 84C and 85 which may extend substantially throughout the height of these frames, t iese rollers being capable of acting eiectively on reca??? the boards or planks which constitute the door, but they will avoid damage or injury to the car door jamb or any other part of the car which they may engage during the operation of opening the door.

rllhe preferred mode of using a car door opener constructed as above described it as follows: 'lhe car to be unloaded is shifted along its rails to bring it opposite to the door opening device which is arranged alongside of such rails or the door-opening device may be shifted` along its rails to bring it into4 Operative relation with the car door to be opened. While this is being done the frames 18 and 20 are preferably arranged in their elevated or retracted position, substantially as shown in Figure 5. After the door-opening device has been positioned opposite to the door to be opened, the frames 18 and 20 are swung` downwardly until the lower ends of these frames rest on the sill or floor of the car at the bottom of the car door opening. lt will be understood that the bars or props l5 are of such length relatively to the transverse distance between the car rails and the rails which support the car door opener that when the frames 18 are lowered to open ative position, substantially as is shown in Figure Ll, one of the frames, as the frame 1S or the roller thereon, will come against the outer side/of the door B which is to be opened, and this roller Se will also abut against the adjacentdoor jamb and the bars 15 and 16 will occupy an inclined or oblique position relatively to the length of the car rails or the rails on which the door opener is mounted. The connecting members 21 and 22 between the frames 18 and 2O are also preferably so adjusted that the rollers Sel and will be spaced from one another a distance somewhat less than the spacing of the uprights 9 which constitute the axes about which the bars 15 and 16 are mounted to swing horizontally, so that whenone of the rollers, as, for example, the roller 34, engages its end of the door and rests against the adjacent door jamb, as is shown in Fig` ure 1, the other roller as 35 will stand away from its respective end of the door for a suitable distance, as, for example, as shown in Figure 1. lilith the door pushers arranged in this way relative longitudinal movement is caused to taire place between the car and the door opener to cause the door opening operation to be performed. lVhere this relative movement is accomplished by shifting the car along its rails, the carriage of the door opener is locked in relatively fixed position to its rails by lowering the bolts 6 and the caris shifted toward the left in Figure 1, in consequence of which the arms 15 and 16 will be swung about the uprights 9 as vertical axestoward. a position perpendicular to the c-ar rails or the rails on which the car opener 1s mounted.

The initial part of this relative shifting movement between the car and the car door opener causes the roller 3d which is in an advanced position relatively to the roller 35 to initiate the door opening operation by pushing in its respective end of the door B substantially as 1s represented 1n Figure 2, the roller 3aduring this operation being positions perpendicular to the lengths of the car rails or the door pusher supporting rails, the other roller 35 will'eome against its end of the door and both rollers Se and 35 will then act substantially in unison to push the door B inwardly at both ends, the door being thus forced loose from its fas tenings against the door jambs C and pushed into the car against the pressure of the grain therein. As the weight of the grain at the bottom of the door is greater than that at the top thereof, the door mayhave a tendency to drift upwardly as it is pushed in and the door will be free to move upwardly, as well as inwardly, dueto the pivotal connections of the bars 15 and 16 which Permit upward movement of the "l `openings being provided between the ends of the door and the door ambs ,C and also beneath the door, through which openings thek l' grain may freely flow and thus discharge from `the car. After a suflicient quantity of the grain has discharged from the car, the door opener may be swung into its retracted position, substantially as shown in Figure 5, the boards constituting the door which has been opened may be removed, and the completion of the discharging of the contents of the car may be accomplished without obstruction by the door opener. After the door of one car has been opened the door opener may be unlocked from its rails and Vshifted longitudinally thereon to bring it into position to 'open the door of another car;'or each car after its door has been opened and its contents discharged may be removed from a position opposite to the door opener and another car to be unloaded may be brought into operative re lation with the door opener.

Figure 6 illustrates a door opener constructed in accordance with another embodiment of the invention, ln this instance, the carriage 1a is mounted on rails da which extend alongside of and in parallelism with the. rails for the cars to be unloaded, locking apertures 8;L being provided in a plate 8b which may be fined in place between the rails 4S? and arranged to cooperate with ve`rtically movable vlocking bolts 6a. These locking bolts may be mounted or guided in the lower ends or" a pair of. hollow standards 7a which are mounted rigidly on the carriage l and are'provided with fittings 17a and i9a which are rotatable horizontally about these standards as axes. These iitt-ings have the pairs ot arms l and l pivoted thereto on the pivotal centers 26a and 2bn and the outer ends ot these arms are pivotally connected by the pivots 27a and 29 to trames 18a and 2H', the latter being:r provided with rollers Sil and The frames are adj ustably connected by telescopically related members 2ln and 22/ which determine the spacing between the frames or their rollers.V Cables 30 are connected to the trames, they passing upwardly over pulleys 31a on the tops ot the standards 7n and the'ca-bles are attached to counter-weights 32a which counter-balance the weight ot the trames and their connected bars or arms. rlhe door opener shown in this instance may be used in the same way as that described in connection with the con struct-ion shown in Figures l to 5,k inclusive, to accomplish the pushing in and opening of the car doors.

llliguie 7 shows another embodiment of the invention wherein a single pair of a ms is used and means is provided tor adjust-ing the length of these arms to accommodate the door pusher to cars ot different widths. In this instance t-le door pusher comprises a pair ot arms and 37 each composed of telescopic sections 38 and 39 and connected by a screw 4:0 revoluble in the section 3S and enthe section 39 so that rotation ot the crew in the appropriate direction will either engrthen or shorten the arm. The sections 38 ot the respective arms are. pivotally connected at ll and Ll2 to an upright 43, so that the arms may swing vertically, and the upright lll is pivoted by vertical pivots lfl to brackets a5 which may be secured to or form part ot a carriage similar to the carriage l or la, so that the arms may swing horizontally about the pivots del and may also be brought by the carriage into operative position relatively to the door of a car. The screws l0 which adjust the length ot the arms may be conveniently operated by tting worm wheels 46 on the screws and providingworms la7 to cooperate with the worm wheels, the worms being actuated by hand cranks i8 or other suitable means. The outer or tree ends ot the arms are connected by the pivots i9 to a treme or bar 50 which is adapted to engage the outer side oi' the door to be opened and abut against the adjacent door jamb, and v, ile the arms ot the door pusher extend in a direction oblique to the side of the car or the length ot the rails which support it, and while the door pusher occupies this position, relative movement between t-he oar and. door pusher car 1iage or other support, in a direction longitudinally of the car will cause the pecar?? door pusher to swing from a position oblique to the length ot the car toward a position perviendicular thereto, in consequence ot which the door vill be pushed in and thus opened in substantially the same manner as described in connection with Figures l to 6, inclusive. ln this instance, the door pusher can be retractd or lifted out of the path oi the car to allow the car and door pusher to be relatively shifted Vto bringr the door pusher and door to and from operative relation.

lt will be uncerstood that while the dooropeninej operation h as been described performed by the longitudinal movement ot the car relatively to tbe door opener, yet the door opening operation is effected by producinga relative longitudinal movement between the car and the door opener while the latter is operatively positioned with respect the door to be opened and that this relative longitudinal movement may be produced different ways, tor example, the door opener itsel't may be shifted or moved by any suitable means longitudinally along,` its rails in the appropriate direction while the door opener is operatively positioned relatively to the door, the door opening operation, however, tal place in the same manner as has been hereinbetore described.

l claim as my invention l. i door opener for railroad cars comprisingv a pair of door pushers having` means for mounting, them toV swing` about substantially parallel vertical axes, the free ends of the pushers being adapted to engage a door in the side ol a car, and means for holding the pair ot door-pushers in relatively convergent relation whereby the door-engaging portions o1n4 the pushers will be brought into operation, one in advance of the other, to push in different portions of the door when the door pushers swing concurrently about their respective axes.

2. A door opener for railroad cars comprising a pair ot door pusliers mounted toV swing about substantially vertical axes, the tree ends of the pushers being adapted to engage a door in the side ot a car, and a spacing member pivotally connecting the pushers toward their free ends7 said member being adjustable to vary the distance between the tree ends ot the pushers.

3. A door opener for railroad cars comprising a door pusher having means T'or supporting itV to swing; both vertically and horizontally with respect to a side ot a car, said pusher being movable by the vertically swinging motion into operative position at the outer side oi' a door in the side oit the car and movable by the horizontal swinging motion from a position oblique to the length of the car toward a position perpendicular thereto in consequence ot relative longitudinal movement between the carand the supporting means for the door pusher, anfd means counter-balancing the door pusher in its vertical swinging motion.

l. A door opener tor railroad cars comprising a pair of horizontally spaced upright pivots, and a pair of door pushers connected to swing in unison about said pivots, the free ends of the pushers being adapted to occupy longitudinally spaced positions at the outer side and toward the respective ends of a door in the adjacent side of the car while the pushers extend obliquely relatively to the length or" the car, and the door pushers swinging about said pivots toward positions perpendicular to the length or" the car in consequence ot relative longitudinal movement between the car and said pivots, and a member connecting the door pushers to cause them to swing in substantial unison about their respective upright pivots.

5. A door opener for railroad cars comprising a pair of upright pivots, a pair of door pushers mounted to swing respectively about said pivots as axes and having their free ends adapted to engage the outer side of a door in the side ot a car, and means connecting the door pushers to cause them to swing in unison about their respective pivots from positions oblique to the length of the car toward a position perpendicular thereto, said connecting means spacing the outer door engaging ends of the door pushers at a dilerent distance than the spacing of said pivots.

6. A door opener for railroad cars comprising a pair of upright pivots having means for supporting them in spaced relation longitudinally at one side of a car, a pair of door pushers mounted to swing respectively about said pivots as axes and having their `free ends adapted to engage the outer side of a door in the side of the car when the door pushers extend in a direction oblique to the length of the car, and a connection between the door pushers whereby one of the door pushers engages the door prior to the engagement of the other door pusher therewith and the door pushers are caused to swing in unison about their respective pivots in consequence of relative longitudinal movement between the car and said pivots.

7. A. device :tor pushing in the door in the side of a railroad car comprising a pair oi upright pivots adapted to be positioned opposite to such door, a pair of door pushers connected to swing horizontally about said pivots respectively, and a connection between the door pushers for spacing their :tree door engaging ends a distance less than the spacing of said pivots, thereby causing1 the door engaging end of one pusher to enthe door in advance ot the engagement ot' the other pusher therewith when the door pushers are arranged in positions oblique tothe length of the car, relative movement between the car and the pivots in a direction longitudinally of the car causing the door pushers to swing from said oblique position toward a position perpendicular to the length ot the car.

8. A device for pushing in the door in the side ot a railroad car comprising a proplike member having means 'lor mounting it alongside a car to swing into a position oblique to the length of the car and thusengage the outer side of the door toward one end thereof and to abut against the adjacent door jamb, and a second prop-like member associated with the member firstmentioned and connected to the latter to swing in unison therewith and to hold said second-mentioned member in position to engage the door, relative longitudinal movement between the car and the mountings oi said members causing the members to swing from said oblique position toward a position perpendicular to the length of the oar and to cause said members to act successively and then concurrently to push in the door.

9. A device for pushing in a door in a side of a oar comprising a pair of spaced upright pivots, a pair of door pushers each comprising a door-engaging member and a pair of bars pivoted tor vertical swinging movement to the door engaging member and pivoted at their opposite ends for horizontal swinging movement about the respective upright pivot and also for vertical swing ing movement relatively thereto, and a connection between the free ends of the door pushers 'for causing them to swing in unison about the respective upright pivots.

10. A door opener tor railroad cars comprising a door pusher embodying longitudinally adjustable telescopic members, means pivotally connected to one of said members for supporting the door pusher alongside ot a car to swing trom a position oblique to the length of the car toward a position perpendicular thereto in consequence oin relative longitudinal movement between the car an d the supporting means, a screw carried by one ot said members and engaging the other member, said screw being operative, when rotated, to relatively adjust said members longitudinally, and operating means for the screw on the member which carries the screw.

In testimony whereof I have hereunto set my hand.

HENRY RIOHA RDSON. 

